Recognition is important to young boys. The Cub Scout advancement plan provides fun for the boys, gives them a sense of personal achievement as they earn badges, and strengthens family understanding as adult family members work with boys on advancement projects.

Bobcat. The Bobcat rank is the first rank for all boys who join Cub Scouting. A boy must earn their Bobcat before proceeding on to their Tiger Cub, Wolf, Bear, or Webelos rank.

Tiger Cub. The Tiger Cub program is for first grade (or age 7) boys and their adult partners. As a boy finishes each part of the five Tiger Cub achievements, he earns an orange bead (for den activities), a white bead (for family activities), or a black bead (for "Go See Its"). These requirements consist of an exciting series of indoor and outdoor activities just right for a boy in the first grade. When the boy has earned five beads of each color, he can receive his Tiger Cub badge.

Wolf. The Wolf program is for boys who have completed first grade (or are age 8). To earn the Wolf badge, a boy must pass twelve achievements involving simple physical and mental skills. After he has earned the Wolf badge, a Wolf Cub Scout can work on the 23 Wolf electives until he finishes second grade (or turns 9 years old). He can choose from more than 100 elective projects that may show him new hobbies and teach him skills that will be useful during his Boy Scout years. When he completes 10 elective projects, he earns a Gold Arrow Point to wear under the Wolf badge. For each 10 elective projects after that, he earns a Silver Arrow Point.

Bear. The Bear rank is for boys who have completed second grade (or are age 9). There are 24 Bear achievements in four categories. The Cub Scout must complete 12 of these to earn the Bear badge. These requirements are somewhat more difficult and challenging than those for Wolf rank. As with the Wolf, when a boy has earned his Bear badge, he may work on electives to earn Arrow Points to wear under his Bear badge.

Webelos. This program is for boys who have completed third grade (or are age 10). A boy may begin working on the Webelos badge as soon as he joins a Webelos Den (provided he has earned his Bobcat). This is the first step in his transition from the Webelos Den to the Boy Scout Troop. As he completes the requirements found in the Webelos Scout Book, he will work on activity badges. The activity badges are in 5 categories: Physical Skills, Community, Outdoor Activity, Mental Skills, and Technology. Besides earning activity badges, Webelos Scouts can earn the compass points emblem. This emblem is awarded after a Webelos Scout has earned seven activity badges. For each four activity badges a Webelos Scout earns after that, he receives a compass point?east, west, and south.

Arrow of Light. The highest rank in Cub Scouting is the Arrow of Light Award. Earning this rank prepares a Webelos Scout to become a Boy Scout. Webelos Scouts who have earned the Arrow of Light Award have also completed all requirements for the Boy Scout badge. This award is the only Cub Scout badge that can be worn on the Boy Scout uniform when a boy graduates into a Troop. Adult leaders who earned the Arrow of Light Award when they were young may also show their achievement by wearing a special square knot on their adult uniform.